ICD-10 - What is Different This Time

Apr 14, 2015, 10:00 AM

Despite that déjà vu feeling, a number of circumstances have changed since the last time ICD-10 was delayed

The healthcare industry is now closer than it’s ever been to an ICD-10 compliance deadline — if only in calendar days. Whereas the previous pair of delays each came approximately seven months ahead of the former respective deadlines, today we are barely more than 5 months away from the ominous First of October.

But other than that is anything actually different this time?

A wide variety of vendors have unveiled new tools for ICD-10 at the conference, from coding specialist Precyse expanding its educational coding platform with the next-generation Precyse DNA, an abbreviation of “determine, nurture, and accelerate,” and Wolters Kluwer announcing that Leap Code Group Manager will be generally available next month. And Infor introduced version 3.5 of its Healthcare Revenue Cycle management software with capabilities for handling the ICD-9 to ICD-10 transition.

In addition to new tools coming to market since the last delay, the latest meaningful use rules to come from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services relax meaningful use as a competitive priority to ICD-10. It conducted end-to-end testing of its own systems with select partners, after which the Government Accountability Office said CMS is ready and in a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing earlier this year “all but one testifier said we are ready to move forward this year,” according to Jim Daley, WEDI ICD-10 co-chair and director of IT at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina.